Gas-producer plant.



C. O. NORDENSSON.

GAS PRODUCER PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2, 1912.

1,066,837. Patentec July 8, 1913;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

In 2/1571 Z0 7: Carl tljlorderwson c. 0. NORDENSSON.

GAS PRODUCER PLANT. APPLICATION YILED MAY 2, 1912. I 1,066,837. Pa en ed July 8,1913.

2 BKEETi-SHBET Q.

Mi'hwaaes J11 1 671 for:

o m1 WW CARL o. lvonnENseon, or

EL HORN, WISCONSIN, assIGiIoR 'ro GRACE A. SOUTHWELL, RUSTEE, or CHIQAGQ, ILLINOIS.

eas-raonuosa PLANT.-

Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Patented July 8,1913.

Application filed May 2, 1912. Serial No. 604,618.

To all. whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL O. NonoENssoN, a subject of the King of Sweden, and a resident of Elkhorn, in the county of Walworth and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas- Produccr Plants; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to.

. gas producing plants or systems,'of that kind more especially adapted to furnish clean and cool gas to a power plant for operating internal combustion engines and for other purposes requiring clean gas;

A' further object of the invention is to provide a gas producer system in which the cleaning and cooling apparatus provides a .large contact surface between the gas and water while operating under a low pressure, thereby effecting a saving of power to withdraw the gas from the system.

A further object of the invention is to proviC a system having 'acleaning and cooling apparatus which operates to bring the cleanest gas into contact with the cleanest water, and 'vice versa, thereby to a'maximum extent utilizing the cleaning and cooling properties of the Water, and effecting a material saving in the volume of water used and in the power required to handle the water.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and the in vcntion consists in the combination and ar- .the point of consumption or use.

contact with which the gas passes. "central pipe 25 is contained within a second the producer shell which incloses the gas generating chamber. It is supported by the girdersv 11 on the walls 12 of a water-seal ash tray. The entire plant is preferably supported on a concretefoundation 13.

15 designates the shell of a combined scrubber and purifier through which the gas is passed. on its way from the producer to It is supported in any suitable manner on a foundation 16, which latter rests on the concrete foundation 13. The gas from the producer does not pass directly to the scrubber and purifier, but is directed through the gas outlet pipe '18 into a preliminary washing and cooling chamber, designated as a whole by 20. From the latter device the gas passes through a pipe 21 to the combined scrubber and purifier. From the upper end of the combined scrubber and purifier .the gas passes, through a pipe 22, tofa positive exhauster-23, which maintains oirculation'of air and vapor through the producer and .withdrawsthe gas from the producer through the cleaning and cooling apparatus. The exhauster may discharge the cleaned and. cooled gas into a holder, when the gas isto bestored for use, or an internal combustion engine may be connected directly to the outlet pipe of the exhausterwhen the producer plant is intended to furnish gas to such engine. I

The gas from the producer is discharged from the pipe 21 through the bottom 24 of the shell 15 and directly into the lower end of the upstanding pipe 25 which is arranged centrally within the shell 15,'and is open at its upper end near the top plate 26 of the shell.

27 designates a sprinkler head that extends a short distance into the upper, open end of the pipe 25 andv is provided with spray openings to deliver a film of water on the inner surface of said pipe, upwardl in aid pipe 29 that is closed at its upper end, above the central piper25, and extends from the top plate 26 of said shell downwardly to near the bottom 24 thereof. The gas which passes upwardly through the central pipe 25 turns outwardly and downwardly at the upper end ofsaid inner pipe and flows downwardly through the outer pipe 29. Arranged at the upper end of said pipe 29,

andabove the pipe25, is a sprinkler head and said header is provided with branches 31 which is provided with nonzle openings adapted to direct the water againstthe inner side of the pipe 29, and across the path of the gas as it passes from the inner pipe tolhe outer pipe. Thus the gas which flows from. the pipe :25 to the pipe 29 passes through the jet of Water discharged from the sprinkler head 31, and also passes down the pipe '29 in contact with the film of water which trickles down the inner side of said latter pipe. The gas passes from the lower end of the ipe- 29 outwardly throughopena ings 33 at t e bottom of the latter-pipe into a lower chamber" 34; at the bottom of the shell 15, and thence upwardly through said shell to the outlet pipe The said shell 15 is provided just above said chamber 34 with a reticulated grate 35 which supports a body of filtering material, such as coke or the like, which may extend to the level indicated by the dotted line a shown in Fig. l.

37, 37 designate a plurality of spray heads arranged in a circula' series above said filter or COliQ bed, throu which water is discharged upon the coke bed and trickles down through theinterstices thereof and in a thin filin over the exterior oif'the particles of coke, in contact with which the gas passes as it rises through said bed.

\Vateris supplied to the spray heads 27,

31 and 37 through a. pipe 39, provided with a branch 40, that. "s connected directlv to the heads 27 and 3 and with arbranch 41 that is connected to anannular feed pi e or header 42 from which the spray hea s 37 do end. The said water ipe 39 is also 'provi ed with a branch 43 w i'ch; supplies .water to the pipe- 44 which communicate with the -vaporizer tanks within the producer shell.

Arranged above the spray heads '37 in the tank or shell 15 are one or more grates 46 upon which is adapted to be supported a dry filtering or purifying material, such as excelsior, sawdust and the like, through which thewashed or scrubbed gas passes to remove from the same the impurities contained therein and to dry the gas. The said grates Bound 46 are preferably made in the iorm shown in F 1g: 2, in which each grate comprises a plurality of segments, all made from the same pattern, and supported at their inner ends on ledges 48 attached to and surrounding the outer pipe 2-9 andsupporb ed on their outer edges against the shell 15.

The water which drips through the central pipe 25 finds its .way to the casing 20 where it accumulates in a sealing well below, hereinafter described. The water which drips tin-(nigh the pipe and the shell 15 is collected al the. bottom of said shell and isdischargcd therefrom through a pipe 50.

liininar washing" and cooling chamber .20

' the scrubber.

52, 52 which extend inwardly through one side wall of the chamber 20 and discharge their contents into troughs 53, 53 that areformed on or supported by, and extend lab erally from, one side wall of said chamber and from spaced, vertical plates or partitions 54,- seam-em. The outlet ends of said pipes are belowthe water level in the troughs, whereby the pipes are sealed. The water dischar ed into the troughs flows downwardly along the vertical surfaces of the plates and chamber walls -The plates troughs 58 which intercept the water flowing down the sides of the plates and walls and divertthe water so intercepted across the spaces between the same to thereby bring the gas flow-in through the chamber into more intimate contact wit-lithe cleaninv and' cooling water. I The side walls of said dimmber and the central plate 55 extend downwardly into a sealing well t O formed in the concrete foundation l3, and the lower edges of said wall and plate are adapted to be submerged by a body of water in said well, so as to t-liereb seal the interior of the producer shell an the scrubber against the atmosphere. The said well 60 is provided with verticallyseparated overflow outlets 61, e2. When the former is closed and the latter is opened the water in the Seal Well rises above the lower edges'of the plates 5 and seals Or shuts oil the producer shell from When the outlet 62 is closed and the inlet Glis opened the water'in the seal well drops below said plates 54 and permits free zig-zag flow of the gas from the producer to the scrubber, but maintains the.

seal against the atmosphere The arrangement of the chamber 20 between the gas outlet side of the producer and the inlet side of the combined scrubber and purifier described provides means, in

addition to the ealing of the system at this point, for preliminarily washing and cooling the gas as it is discharged from the producer, by the use of water which has served the purpose in the scrubber of finally washing'hnd cooling the gas.

cooling chamber through the pipes 52 contains, of course, a. percentage of impurities removed from the gas in the scrubber, but

suillcicntly clean to remove a large percentage of the impurities from the gas which issues directly from the gas collecting chain- The water discharged lnlO said preliminary washing and- 'in-gl simple and comact, whereb ber of the producer, and is also cooler than 'vantage -iriasmuch as the cleaning and cooling .watersutilized to'a maxlmum extent to clean and cool the gas before the water is discharged from the system thereby eflect- :ing amaterial saving in the volume of water handledland in the power required to pump thewater.

The construetion'and arrangement of the scrubber and purifier described is exceeldt e was ingand cooling of t e gas is carried on in. a small space and by the use of an economical construction. The arrangement of the-pipes 25 and 29- and the spray nozzles at the upper ends, the-reofiproduces an ex-- ceedinglysimple, and compact means for passing the gas through and in contact with the cooling and cleaning water, and a construction which requires a moderate volume of water to cool and clean the gas.

The discharge pipe 22 which leads from the combined scrubber and purifier to the suction pipe 23 is provided near the exhauster with a by-pass pipe or branch that is connected by a pipe 66 with the outlet pipe 67 of the exhauster. The by-pass thus arranged is normally open to permit the moving column of gasj to circulate through the by-pass circuit when the engine, with which the pipe 67 is connected, is tak ing a normal supply of gas. The by-pass is adapted to be closed bya valve 69 arranged in the pipe 66 when a greater than normal demand is made ;on the engine or other gas consuming device tostimulate the producer to greater activity. For this purpose, said valve is provided with a stem 70 that is connected at its upper end with one end of a cable 71 which is trained about a suitable fixed guide 72, and is connected atits other end with a bell 73 that dips into a body of liquid in an upwardly opening cup 74. Extending upwardly through the bottom of said cup and into the bell above the liquid level therein is a branch 75 of the outlet pipe 70. VVhen, therefore, an abnormal operation of the engine produces a prc determined suction or low pressure in the outlet pipe, the bell is drawn downwardly and moves the valve 69 against its seat to close the bypass circuit, so as to stimulate the action of the producer to supply the gas demanded by the engine. The said exhauster is provided with a seal pipe 78 that dips into a body of water in a seal well 79 below the exhauster. lVater overflows from the cup 74 through an overflow pi e 80.

An advantage of the scrubber is that a large contact surface is provided between the gas and water and in a space where the operating pressure is very low or moderate. Thus power to maintain the producer in operation is economized. The construction of-the scrubber and preliminary cooler and cleaner cooperate to produce a clean and cool gas with a maxi-mum of efliciency and with a minimum amount of water and a moderate power expense tofoperate the system. 71*

I claim as my inventio-n:-

1. A gas producer system comprising a generator, a scrubber having means for supplying water thereto, a preliminary gas coollng and cleaning chamber between the gen erator and the scrubber at the lower end of the scrubber and having therein partitions to form a zig-ihg path for the gas from the generator to the scrubber, and means for directing the used water from the scrubber upon said partitions of the chamber, whereby the gas passes from the producer to the scrubber in contact with the used water.

2. A gas producer system comprising a generator, a scrubber with means for sup-- plying water thereto, achamber affording communication between the generator and the scrubber and provided with a series of internal plates to afford a zig-zag path for the gas, and means for directing the used water from the scrubber to saidplates to cause the Water to trickle thereover. 5

3. A gas producer system comprising a generator, a scrubber, with means for supplying water thereto, a chamber affording communication between the generator-and scrubber and provided with a series of in ternal plates to afl'ord a zigzag path'tor the gas, said plates being provided on their sides with troughs and a pipe leading from the scrubber and provided with a plurality of branches which discharge into the troughs in said chamber.

4. A gas producer system comprising a generator, a scrubber, with means for supplying water thereto, a chamber affording communication between the generator and scrubber and provided with-a series of laterally spaced, vertical partitions arranged to afford a Zig-Zag path for the gas which passes through the chamber, said parti- -tions being provided with upper and lower troughs which extend laterally into the spaces between the partitions, and a pipe leading" from the scrubber and provided with a. plurality of branches leading into the upper series of troughs.

5. A gas producer system comprising a generator, a scrubber,a chamber at the lower end of said scrubber affording communication between the said generator and crubber and formed with an internal zigzag passageway for the gas, means for spraying water on the sides of the passageway, a seal well into which said chamber extends and supplied with water which generator, a scrubber, a chamber ailording communication betweensaid generator and scrubber and provided with a series of vertical, laterally spaced plates arranged to form a zig-zag path for the gas, some of which plates extend below -the others, means for spraying water against the sides of the plates, a seal. well in which the water from the plates accumulates and into which the lower ends of said plates extend, said seal well being provided with vertically separated overflow outlets, one of which is below and the other of which is above the levelof the lower ends of the shorter plates.

7.4 gas producer system comprising av generator, and a scrubber which receives gas therefrom, comprising a shell, an upright; pipe located centrally therein and open at its upperend and connected at its lower end with the exitpipe of the producer, a pipe surrounding the central pipe which is closed at its upper end and open at its lower end,

means ior supporting a filter bed in the shell exterior to said pipes and spray nozzles at the upper ends of said pipes and above the .filter bed support.

8. A gas producer syscern comprising a generator and a scrubber WlllCl] receives the gas therefrom, comprising a shell, an up right pipe located centrally therein and open at its upper end and connected at its lower end with theexit pipe of the prpducer a. second pipe surroun 'ng the central pipe 40 and closed at its upper end and open at its lower end, means for supporting a) filter bed in the shell exterior to said, pi es, spray nozzles at the upper ends of sai pipe and above the filter bed support and a support within the upper end'oli-jthe shell exterior said pipes for a layer. tifpuf'ifying material. 9. A gas producer comprising a generator/ and a scrubber which redeiwes gas therefrom," comprising an upright shell provided .atits upper end with a draw-0E pipe, an upright V pipe located centrally within theshell and connected at-its lower end with the gas" exit pipe of the producer, a spraynozzle in the upper open end of the said pipe, asecond pipe surrounding the central pipe and closed at its upper end and open at its-lower end, a spray nozzle in the up er end of the second pipeabove theppen en of the central pipe, a support in the lower end of the shell ex- 0 terior to said pipes for a body of filtering material, and spray nozzles within the shell abovesaid support.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I afiix my si ature the presence of two witnesses, th1s27th day of April, A. D. 1912.v A T CARL OLNORDENSSON. Witnesses: I i

.G.-. E. Downs, W. L. HALL.- 

